Local First Arizona is partnering with the American Sustainable Business Council to bring the discussion on carbon pricing to Arizona.

The two organizations will host a Town Hall Discussion on Carbon Pricing in Phoenix on Monday, April 11, hosted at CopperPoint Mutual Insurance at 3030 N. Third St. in Phoenix from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Carbon pricing, sometimes called the carbon tax, is frequently referred to by policy makers across the country as a possible solution to the effects of climate change.

According to the American Sustainable Business Council, carbon pricing would set a “per-ton price on each ton of carbon emitted, thus incentivizing companies to cut emissions or transition to less carbon-intensive or carbon-free energy sources. The price can rise over time by a set amount, and the funds raised can be used to either reduce other tax rates or provide means-tested dividends to taxpayers (a revenue-neutral approach) or invest in various national priorities (a revenue-positive approach).”

One of Local First Arizona’s main goals is to provide education opportunities and resources for local businesses across the state. These events range from webinars on marketing to seminars on copyright law to forums on policy issues facing Arizona.

“We believe it is important to host these types of events so that Arizona’s local business community can become better educated on policy proposals that may directly affect their business,” said Kimber Lanning, director of Local First Arizona. “Events like the Town Hall Discussion on Carbon Pricing allow local businesses to participate in the conversation and come to their own conclusions about important policy decisions.”

The Town Hall Discussion on Carbon Pricing will feature a panel discussion of experts and small business leaders about the potential effects of enacting a carbon pricing policy in Arizona or nationally and what such a policy could mean for local businesses. Tailored for business owners and representatives, this event will dive into questions on the impact of carbon pricing policy on costs for goods and energy, how carbon pricing may affect competition with foreign companies, how revenues collected from carbon pricing could be appropriated, and the political realities of enacting such a policy.

Current confirmed panelists for the Town Hall Discussion on Carbon Pricing include:

  • Marc Hafstead who is a fellow at Resources for the Future, an independent, nonpartisan organization that conducts rigorous economic research and analysis to help leaders make better decisions and craft smarter policies about natural resources and the environment. His research spans environmental and macroeconomics. He models the effects of alternative environmental policies such as carbon taxes, cap-and-trade programs, and clean energy standards in economies with multiple non-environmental frictions and distortions on key outcomes such as emissions reductions, welfare, and employment.
  • Zach Bernstein who is the manager of research and social media at American Sustainable Business Council, which advocates for policy change at the federal and state level that supports a more sustainable economy. Bernstein has worked at the blog ThinkProgress, where he wrote about a diverse range of topics, including health care, economic and environmental issues. He also worked at the good government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Zach earned an M.A. in Public Communication and a B.A. in Political Science from American University in Washington.

Admission is free to attend the Town Hall Discussion on Carbon Pricing but registration is requested. Media representatives are welcome to attend. The registration page is available at https://goo.gl/ESJSrp.